A Thousand Words
by Nikasha
Summary: "If a picture is worth a thousand words, then surely a thousand words can create a picture." In a world where darkness resides, there are only two rules: kill or be killed and do not fall in love with the enemy. It's funny how easy it is to break rules even when there are only two. Akuroku, Soriku, Zemyx, Cleon. More details in the first chapter.
1. To Be A Cat

Ok, welcome to my new story! XD

Some background on it:

This world is based on one I made, for a story that I may someday write out...you never know with me. It's going to be hella confusing at first, because I'm not sure how to filter all the explanations on words into the story. Hopefully they'll slowly iron themselves out through the story. And it'll sound a little weird, perhaps, at first because I'm trying to keep Roxas's little secret a surprise...You'll see.

Here's important stuff:

This is yaoi. Don't read if you don't like (or do read and pretend one of them's a girl, I don't care XP). Rated M for language, violence, blood, and future smut. Oh, and these ... mean a break. Like usually in books where they skip two lines to show either a time skip or a scene change. The main pairings in this at the moment are Akuroku and Soriku with side pairings Zemyx and Cleon.

Thanks for showing interest and I hope you like it!

* * *

It was a beautiful morning, or so it seemed. The blond teen stretched, yawning, and examined the coffee in front of him with a blank stare. He didn't really like coffee, it tasted awful to him, but the caffeine was nice. With a sigh, he drank from it again, bright blue eyes scanning the café. He didn't see anything interesting, so he huffed inwardly and resigned himself to another drab day.

"Hey, there!"

Roxas looked up in surprise to see a tall redhead standing over him with a silly, friendly grin, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a plate of food in the other. He found himself examining glowing green eyes, and muscles under a black t-shirt and skinny jeans that hung off ridiculously shapely hips. His hands were fairly large with long, expressive fingers. Roxas looked at his hair again and was fascinated by how it managed to look like red fire, spiking out from the back of his head. He wondered absently how long it took to get it to spike like that.

The guy gestured at the seat across from Roxas, breaking his reverie. "Mind if I sit there?" he asked.

Roxas was tempted to say yes—he didn't really like forcing himself to make idle conversation. But he didn't have the heart to turn down this intriguing person. "I don't mind," he replied and watched as his new tablemate maneuvered around and set his food down.

They sat in companionable silence, the redhead eating and Roxas examining the café, and eventually breaking out a book from his bag and reading.

The tall man stood, startling Roxas from a rather interesting part of the story, and stretched. "Well, thanks for the seat, I suppose," he commented in a voice that apparently just naturally sounded amused. "Bye…Oh, I didn't catch your name."

Roxas again considered blowing him off. But that would be rude. "Um, it's Roxas," he replied, matching those level green eyes gaze for gaze.

The redhead smirked and held out a hand. "I'm Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" Roxas jerked backwards, insulted, and he hastily added, "Don't be offended, I say that to everyone."

The blond glared for a moment, apparently not sure whether to believe him or not. But he did grab Axel's hand and shook it, thinking how weird the guy was.

As the redhead tossed his trash and left, Roxas snorted and thought, _Well, at least I'll never have to see him again._

Roxas stood and left, pulling out a pair of headphones and settling them on his head, shifting his iPod in his hoodie pocket. He had felt the chill in the air this morning and put on a long-sleeved black shirt and his favorite thin, pull-over hoodie that was white with black sleeves, but it was getting warmer now and he was beginning to regret it. He tapped his fingers on his denim-clad leg thoughtfully and looked around, trying to remember just what exactly he was supposed to be doing.

He turned and walked down the street, mind on the project he had upcoming for his freshmen Math class. He really didn't want to do it, and so had been slightly procrastinating, but he needed to start planning before he got too far behind. As he mulled the requirements and guidelines in his head, he almost didn't notice that he was about to pass the place he had been headed for: the local park. It was rather run-down, and, at the moment, the entrance was flanked by two rather heavily-muscled men with stern expressions. No human in their right mind would enter the park today.

Roxas passed between the two people unmolested and looked around as he passed through the crowds. Some people were drinking alcohol, a strangely preferred pastime of his kind, and he avoided them like the plague. Alcohol didn't sit well with him—it tasted like shit, after all.

"Roxas!"

The blond turned and smiled at the silver-haired man walking towards him. "Hey, Riku," he said, clasping hands with him. "How's it going?"

Riku shrugged and scratched one of his silver ears, a common habit of their species when embarrassed. "Well, it's good, I suppose…"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "What happened?" he asked in a warning tone.

Riku grinned sheepishly. "I, er, I went hunting the other day—"

"Oh, boy," Roxas sighed, shaking his head.

"Do you want to know or not?" Riku growled. "Anyway, I finally caught the chick and was about to bite her when I heard a hiss. So I turned and guess what?"

"Vampire?" Roxas asked in a faintly nauseated voice.

Riku nodded. "A nasty one, a Renegade. It wanted the blood I was after, and so we had a throw-down over it…and I lost."

Roxas frowned deeply. "A captain fell to a Renegade?" he murmured, concerned.

Riku nodded. "Not only that, but I watched from afar to keep an eye on the prey. He killed the lady. Drank her dry. I couldn't do a thing."

Roxas shivered. "If even the Renegades are getting that strong, the vampires are overbreeding again."

"The vampires have been overbreeding since they were made."

Riku and Roxas turned and nodded at the blonde stalking up to them, arms crossed. "Larxene," Roxas mumbled by way of greeting.

Larxene snorted. "If Renegades are getting that strong, it just means WE are getting that weak."

Riku bristled visibly at the suggestion, baring his teeth. "I'm not weak," he growled angrily.

Roxas winced; Larxene knew better than to touch Riku's one weak point: his strength, ironically. He was strong, truly, but he was rather obsessed with it, since he didn't really have anything else he could do for the Clan besides his magic, and everyone knew Roxas was the best at that, hands down.

Larxene rolled her eyes and retorted, "Of course not, kiddo. The Meet is going to begin soon. See you there." She walked off with a sarcastic wave.

Riku growled audibly while she marched off. Then they noticed everyone beginning to head for the main stage and the silver-haired man stalked off angrily. Roxas sighed and followed, taking off his headphones and switching off the music before shoving his hands into his pockets.

The blond settled near the front, between Riku and Larxene, and looked up at the small stage where a black-haired man stood, blue eyes watching patiently for the crowds of people to settle down. From where he stood compared to his audience, his black cat-like ears stood out starkly against the blue sky, and his black tail waved peaceably. Once everyone was seated, he glanced over them all once more, then said, "My dear Clan…we are in some interesting trouble."

This stirred up the people, and Roxas frowned thoughtfully. Usually the Leader spoke with the captains before he told everyone about a danger…

He was still wearing his characteristic half-smile, but it was diminished. He inhaled deeply and went on. "The werewolves have broken off their pact with us."

There was a moment of dead silence. Roxas thought, _What?_ Then everyone began to murmur again. Riku stood suddenly, attracting attention. "Why?" he shouted, looking as appalled as Roxas felt.

The black-haired man shook his head slowly. "I'm not sure. I tried to speak with the Alpha, but…" Anger flickered across his face, making Roxas feel ill. Zack never got mad. "…she didn't want to listen. They refused to even let me see her."

"We should teach them a lesson!" Larxene snarled from Roxas's side, standing up abruptly. Echoing cries of retribution spread through the crowd.

Zack held up a hand, quieting them all instantly. "No," he replied firmly. "We are going to, and have, spilt more blood than necessary just defending ourselves. I will not spill more attacking." He bared his teeth and hissed as they began to speak again, shutting them up. His ears remained flat as he went on. "We are not going to attack anyone! Yes, we have powerful magic, and powerful captains. But let's face it, my friends…we are a dying breed."

A morbid silence greeted his words. Dismay for his Leader shot through Roxas. _What is he thinking?_ he wondered, mortified. _He just absolutely slaughtered our morale._ And that, at the moment, was the most important thing they had. Even he knew that, and he was just a former spellcaster.

Zack frowned at them. "I know things look grim," he sighed. "But we will survive. We always have, and we always will. We are far stronger, and far stealthier than either of the other species. We may not kill out our enemies, but we will win, because we are resilient." His eyes lit with a dark fire, making Roxas's stomach clench with a strange sense of pride he hadn't felt in years. "We will survive because we are werecats! Never forget that."

...

Roxas sighed heavily, laying his head down on the table sideways. It was ridiculously hot. It was always ridiculously hot, but today was surely ten times worse than normal. "Why am I here today?" he asked himself in a grumble.

"Good question."

The blond looked up and blinked in surprise. Standing over him, smirking with arms crossed, was the redhead from a couple days prior, the day of the most tragic Clan Meet he had been to yet. Reminded of that day, he let his head flop back down without so much as a grunt of a reply.

The man slid into the booth across from him, a smirk playing across his mouth as he folded his arms again. "I would ask you how life is" he commented in that same, rather enchanting voice "but I think I know the answer."

"Buzz off," Roxas growled, not tempted in the slightest to be friendly today. He maneuvered his head so he was sitting with his chin resting on the table, glaring into glinting green eyes.

"Ouch, it bites," Axel chuckled. He leaned forward, resting his cheek on his palm. "What's got you so worked up, blondie?"

"You're still alive," Roxas replied with a vicious sense of satisfaction. "Blondie, huh? Did you forget my name, red?"

The smirk widened into a relieved grin, surprising Roxas. _What the hell? Does he like being insulted?_ "Well, as a matter of fact, I did forget your name," he replied easily, seemingly pleased that the blond had brought it up on his own. "What was it again? But you forgot mine, too, right?"

_Oh, that's why he looks so relieved_. "No, I didn't, Axel. And I'm not going to tell you mine if you can't be bothered to remember it." He was tempted to stick out his tongue, but he wasn't that childish.

Axel pouted—actually pouted!—and whined, "But blondie! I have trouble remembering names. Come on, please?"

Roxas growled in his throat like a cat, disinclining. The minute he did that, however, Axel perked up, eyes lighting up with suspicion. He felt panic instantly flood him, but he hid it well. He shot his head up and looked behind him, asking, "What? What is it?"

By the time he had turned back around, the glint was hidden. "Oh, nothing, nevermind," he sighed. "Come on, blondie, if you won't tell me your name, at least tell me what you're so upset about."

"School sucks, I don't have a boyfriend, my best friend moved away, and my brother's been acting strange lately." Roxas let the truths roll off his tongue. That wasn't why he was upset at the moment, but it had been bothering him.

Axel's eyebrows rose, apparently fighting against the urge to smirk again. "That sounds pretty harsh," he finally managed to say. Then he tacked on with further amusement, "Boyfriend, huh?"

_Shit, why did I say that?_ "Yeah, boyfriend," Roxas grumbled, lowering his eyelids to half-cover his bright blue eyes. "If it bothers you, just piss off."

"Hey now." Roxas glanced up at Axel's hurt tone to see him practically pouting again. "There's no need to get hostile. 'Sides…" His gaze caught Roxas's, curiosity shining in them. "…it would be rather hypocritical of me if I was bothered by liking men."

Roxas got the message instantly and closed his eyes completely_. I'm being flirting with by a red-haired man in a café I don't even like. Where did my life go? I thought I quit the spellcasters so I could get my life back..._He opened his eyes to see Axel staring at him with a calculating gaze, and wondered absently at how expressive the redhead's eyes were.

He didn't realize they were staring at each other until a cellphone went off, and Axel began digging through his pockets for it, breaking the blond free from the spell. Roxas wondered if he had heard that song before while the redhead pulled out his phone, then answered it. "Hello?" the man said, frowning. Roxas was surprised by how different his expression was when he wasn't talking to the blond werecat; he looked a lot less happy, and a tad stressed. "…Alright, Dem, I'll pick you up later." He sighed and closed the phone, looking down at Roxas. "Sorry, Roxy, but I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, got it memorized?" He stood with another smirk and sauntered out as Roxas snapped angrily, "Don't call me that!"

It wasn't until the man was well out the door that the blond realized he had remembered his name.

_That little fucker…_

_..._

Roxas slouched into his apartment, shutting the door behind him and slinging his college bag off into the entry way. He meandered in, shouting, "I'm home!"

As he kicked off his shoes under the coat hooks, a brunette came barreling down the stairs and nearly knocked the blond down as he tackled him. "Roxas!" he squealed, wrapping his arms around him.

Roxas couldn't help the small smile that forced it way to the surface at his twin's over-enthusiastic greeting. "Hey, Sora," he chuckled, freeing himself. "How was school?"

The blue eyes widened as he went into puppy-sulking mode. "Riku wouldn't talk to me again today," he grumbled, crossing his arms.

Roxas trailed into the kitchen, casting his brother a surprised glance. "Really?" he replied. "Why not?"

Sora blew a raspberry at him. "How should I know?" he retorted, sliding into a chair at the table. He grinned as a gray fluff-ball attached itself to his shoelace and jiggled his foot, playing with it. "He just ignores me every time I try to talk to him. Come on, Rox, please talk to him? For me? I know you guys aren't terribly close, but I need this favor."

Roxas hid his guilty expression as he shuffled through the pantry for something edible. Poor Sora didn't know that they were actually pretty good friends. "Sora, Riku is closer to your grade. It would be weird if a freshman pulled aside a junior to talk to him, especially about him ignoring someone in his own grade."

"No, it wouldn't!" Sora exclaimed adamantly, distracted from the ball of fur latched onto his shoe. "It's college, Roxas, it's totally diff—OW!" He growled and leaned down to pull the kitten off his shoe, picking its claws out of the material and holding it on the table, earning an angry mewing. "Rox, control your kitten!"

"You brought him into the house," the blond retorted, abandoning his search momentarily to pick up the gray baby cat. It instantly began purring, curling up into a ball in his hands and rubbing its cheek on his thumb. "Be nice, Storm," he rebuked the kit gently, taking it into the living room and sticking into its bed, where it sat and meowed, giving him a kitty look. He sighed and went back into the kitchen, sighing again when he was met with a look from his brother that nearly matched the cat's. "Alright, I'll talk to Riku tomorrow. Why can't you call him, or something?"

"Thank you thank you thank you!" he squealed, jumping up and hugging his brother again. "And I can't call him, I don't have his phone number."

_Oh, right. _Roxas freed himself again and frowned thoughtfully. "That's really mean of him," he hummed. "Anyway, your room better be clean! Cloud is going to be here in a couple days, and I don't want him to think we can't survive on our own."

"Like he doesn't think that anyway," Sora grumbled as he trudged up to his room, trailed by a happily bouncing kitten.

The blond chuckled to himself as he began to look for something to eat. His ringtone pierced the air and he flipped his phone open. "'Ello?"

"Roxas?"

The blond frowned irritably. "Hey, captain. Why aren't you talking to my brother?"

Riku sounded surprised. "Your brother? You mean Sora? I didn't know I wasn't."

"Well, you aren't," Roxas snapped. "Come on, Riku, be nice."

"Sorry, sorry," the silver-haired werecat replied. "You're overprotective. I can talk to who I want to, Roxas."

"Riku," the blonde growled threateningly.

"Alright, I'll talk to him tomorrow," he grumbled. "Anyway, I was calling to tell you that the Leader decided we need a Meet just for captains soon."

"I'm not a captain anymore," Roxas replied angrily.

"Tell that to Zack," Riku retorted, sounding tired. "Well, I'd better go."

"Good. Get off the phone, I'm starving," he sighed.

They hung up without another word, and the blond continued pillaging the cabinets, looking for a snack. As he parked his seat in a chair, sliding a bag of chips onto the table in front of him, his thoughts were drawn inexplicably back to the redhead. He stared sightlessly at the tabletop, wondering how they managed to keep turning up at the same café. Roxas had gone to there several times before, but he had never seen Axel until that first time, and then suddenly the redhead turns up twice.

The blond tapped his fingers on the table thoughtfully and sighed. It was just his imagination. That look the redhead had gotten in his eyes when he growled, though…He frowned, firm in his belief, and a little dismayed by it. Axel wasn't human. And he wasn't a werecat, either.

That meant he was an enemy.

* * *

*whistles* This was difficult to write, actually. The next chapter is worse.

This was meant to be two chapters, but I want to try to write longer chapters for this story.

Umm that's all I can think of at the moment. Oh, I need help figuring something out. While I was writing my Soriku portion of this, I found it was actually a very cute story. So now, either I can put it in a totally different story or switch out pairings. What do you guys think?

Please tell me if you notice any mistakes. Microsoft Word doesn't catch everything *sighs*. And critique it if you can, I need all the help I can get.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Warring Inside

HAPPY AKUROKU DAY!

This is not the best chapter for today...I'll try to put something cute up in a minute eheh.

Listening to Dear in Music Box form while writing this was interesting...I swear it was the cutest and saddest scene I've written yet.

Have fun~

(For the record: ... means a break now, because fanfic doesn't like what I was doing for some reason. *shrug*)

* * *

Roxas found himself darting through the forest. He paused in the shadows of a tree, blue eyes piercing the shadows of the park. He flicked his tail and shifted his weight from paw to paw, silent despite his fidgeting.

Suddenly the bushes rustled and he froze, fur bristling ever so slightly along his spine and his tail. He crouched lower, prepared to launch himself at any attacker that appeared.

A silver-furred, panther-sized feline slid out of the leaves and eyed Roxas warily through teal optics.

Roxas sighed heavily, relaxing, and eyed Riku with frustration. Riku stared back.

Suddenly they both reared, and smoothly morphed into their human forms.

Riku coughed once and said, "Roxas, you can't keep running from this."

"I can run from it as long as I have legs," he rasped in reply, still glaring at the silver-haired werecat.

Riku sighed heavily. "If that's so, then I'll have to cut them off. Zack says you have to, no matter your reasons for not wanting to."

"Fuck Zack," Roxas snarled, ears flattening against his head. "I won't come back! I quit being SpellMaster for a reason!"

Riku scowled and instinctively they both went into fighting positions, crouched low to the ground, ears flat, tails lashing. "It doesn't matter what you want, Roxas," he snapped. "This is for the good of the Clan."

Roxas shook his head harshly, clenching his hands into fists. "I don't care," he answered, eyes glaring fiercely. "The werecats can all go die for all I care! I want my life back!"

"How dare you!" Riku snarled. "Your words are traitorous! Roxas, stop this! Just come back and do your job, and it'll all be over soon."

"And if I die?" the blond challenged sharply. "If I die, I will never have the chance to fall in love, never have the chance to have a family, never have a chance to actually have a life! I don't want to be a werecat! And you know full well the most endangered member of the Clan is the head spellcaster. People target them, because they know if they take out the person in charge of magic, the whole Clan falls—"

"And if there is no SpellMaster, then the Clan falls quickly!" Riku cried out. He spread his arms in a placating gesture. "Roxas, please, we need you. And if you have no Clan, you will die as well."

Roxas hesitated, unsure after that remark. It hadn't occurred to him that without a Clan to protect him, the other species would still attempt to kill him…

The blond sagged, defeated. "Fine," he murmured softly. "I'll go back. But once this is over, I'm returning to my life again."

"That's all we can ask for," Riku assured him gently. He walked over and clapped him on the shoulder in a friendly manner. "It'll be okay, you'll see."

...

Roxas was back in the café. He had his head resting on the table, arms limp by his side. He was trying to keep his mind blank. He wanted to take up his own mental advice and enjoy the little free time he had until he was called in by the Patriarch to defend his Clan, but if he tried, he would focus on the gloomy aspects of things, and it wasn't helping. He had seen several flowers and instead of thinking how pretty they were, he figured on how fleeting their life was. He saw the sun and rather than thinking about the life it brought, he thought about how the surface could kill, about how it drained creatures of their life source. How ridiculously, irritatingly hot it was.

"Hey, Roxy."

Roxas growled from his position, "Don't call me that."

Axel didn't answer, but his aura of amusement was practically tangible. Roxas heard the chair scrape the tile as he sat across from him and noticed consciously for the first time the interesting smell that washed over him, one of cinnamon, smoke, and fur.

Roxas crinkled his nose in distaste and raised his head. He hesitated when he saw the concern in the emerald eyes, but then ignored it. "Do you smoke?" he inquired in a callous tone. "And have a dog?" Although honestly, he really didn't mind the smell too much. It was strange how rather attractive it was, considering he hated smokers and, most of the time, dogs.

Axel shrugged. "I do smoke, although not often. And yeah I have a dog." He seemed so relaxed as he added the last bit, but something in his eyes…some glint was a bit off that Roxas noticed.

The blond narrowed his eyes imperceptibly, but said nothing. He had cast off his earlier suspicions of Axel being an enemy—anyone would look at you funny if you growled, really—but this was making them resurface. If Axel was lying about a dog…He decided to test the theory. "What kind of dog?" he asked curiously.

Axel made a face like he was concentrating. "A German Shepherd," he replied, looking satisfied with himself.

Roxas nodded to himself; the scent was rather like a German Shepherd. He dispelled his fears again and gave the redhead a questioning look. "So?" he asked. "What're you here for?"

"Coffee!" Axel answered happily, showing him the cup in his hand. "Although, I'll admit I was hoping to run into you again."

Roxas smiled weakly. "I may not come around here anymore after today," he murmured without thinking.

Axel's casual smirk disappeared. "Why not?" he asked, his concern back. "It's not because of me, is it?"

Roxas's head shot up. "No! Of course it's not your fault."

Axel smiled a little. "Well, that's good," he chuckled. "I was worried I was annoying you."

Roxas smiled back. "You might be, a little," he joked. "Anyway, yeah…I probably won't be coming around here, because I, er…" He hesitated and quickly came up with a white lie. "…I got my job back and it's going to take up a lot of time."

To his surprise, the redhead's eyes darkened. "I can understand that," he murmured, looking down at his gloved hands splayed out over the tabletop.

Roxas looked at them as well, confused. He waited for Axel to go on, but he didn't, so they just sat there, staring at his hands until the taller man suddenly exhaled sharply and said, "Well, I need to leave soon. My, er, assistant is still new to our job and he wanted to do something later. I'll need to help him out with it."

Roxas nodded absently, but as Axel went to stand up, the blond suddenly reached over and snagged his wrist. They both stared at the connection in surprise. Roxas realized why he had done that, and, without thinking, blurted out, "Just…Just stay a little bit longer."

Axel looked down at him, expressionless, for a moment. Then he nodded and sat back down with a faint smile. He remarked, "Well, that's perfectly fine with me."

The blond couldn't help it; he smiled in reply and let go of Axel's wrist. But the redhead caught his hand and held it, still smiling at him.

Roxas froze, unsure of how to react. He decided after a moment that it wasn't so bad, especially since Axel's hand was rather comfortingly warm, and relaxed.

They sat like that for some time before Axel sighed regretfully and murmured, "I really do need to leave."

Roxas unintentionally squeezed the gloved hand before gently freeing his own and standing, feeling a faint blush on his face. He smiled at Axel again and said, "Well, it was nice seeing you again."

"Yeah." Axel bit his lip like he was thinking something over, and then he shook his head and just grinned at him again. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime, Roxy."

He didn't have the heart to tell him off for the nickname for some reason. He felt like his insides were being clenched in a fist and he almost wanted to ask Axel to hang out sometime, or at least for some further connection…but they didn't even know each other that well. He bit his lip as well, then shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away. "Yeah," he murmured. "I'll definitely see you again."

Axel nodded once, sharply, then turned and left, waving vaguely over his shoulder.

Roxas didn't understand why he felt so empty.

...

The blond walked in the door to his apartment, head down and thoughts chaotic.

Sora came plunging down the stairs, grinning, a cheerful greeting on his lips. But he took one look at Roxas's face and the words died, his expression turning to a frown. "Hey, Rox?" he murmured cautiously.

The blond shook himself free from his preoccupation and looked up at the brunet. "Yeah, So?" he asked. He didn't notice how bleak his voice was.

Sora blinked at him and remarked, "You look pretty down. Are you okay?"

Roxas flinched. "I do?" He rubbed his arm unconsciously and bit his lip again. "Um, yeah, I'm fine. I'm…perfectly okay." He couldn't tell Sora, and that depressed him. He couldn't tell his brother about anything…not about being forced to rejoin the active werecat army, not about his terrible choice with Axel…Sora wouldn't understand. He felt his mood sink lower and wondered if he was headed for a depression. He sighed and told Sora, "Really, I'm fine. Tell me when dinner's ready, okay?"

"Actually, about that…" Sora fidgeted nervously, blushing. "I was going to tell you…I was going to go out with Riku tonight…but I think I'll cancel." He frowned at the blond. "I don't think I should leave you alone."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine alone, I'm not going to do anything," he sighed. "You go ahead and go out with Riku." An undeniable feeling of jealously shot through him and he inwardly frowned; he could understand being jealous, as he hadn't had a real date in years, but for some reason, it felt more like his jealously was focused around a person. He perused it, and he was surprised by the result.

He wanted to go out with Axel.

Strangely, the moment he knew what he wanted, his resentment and gloom filled him even more. He growled in his head and reassured Sora, "I'll take care of myself."

Sora eyed him uncertainly before nodding slowly. "If you say so," he replied cautiously.

Roxas went up to his room and collapsed on his bed, his head in his hands. He felt so depressed…_Why didn't I give him my phone number? _he wailed inwardly. _Why did I return to the army? Why did I give in? WHY?_ He didn't realize he was crying until he was choking on sobs and continued to hold them back_. I wanted a life, a chance at something other than being a werecat…_he thought_. I ruined it. Not only did they force me back, I lost my one chance at falling love. God, I hope I find Axel again._

_He was probably a werewolf, you know,_ a voice inside him commented. _You're better off this way. No chance that you'll fall in love with a wolf that will rip your world to shreds, and you, too, if he found out you were a werecat. And you're part of something important again. You can protect your friends and family, your real family._

_My real family…Axel is not family…_

It was almost like he was brainwashing himself into accepting all that had happened in the course of a couple of days. There was no going back. He would just have to live with it.

He transformed into a cat and curled up on his bed…It was better trying to sleep as a cat, because cats can't shed tears. That didn't stop the pain, though.

* * *

Well that's sad! XP I'm sorry, it's a bad chapter for Akuroku Day, but at least there's some cute stuff in there, too. I have no idea where this is going to go at the moment XD.

Since no one told me any thoughts about my question, the next chapter will start Soriku. I'll switch out from now on, I just needed this to be Akuroku for today.

Going to post something short and sweet in a bit for Akuroku Day. Keep an eye out for it! :D

Thanks for reading! ^w^ Please critique


	3. Dancing Silver

I'm so sorry it's taken me so long. DX College eats your time surprisingly a lot, even though it takes up less time than high school...Does not make sense.

Warning: Twilight-bashing. I really don't care about the series either way, it has good writing and good ideas if a silly storyline sometimes, but I can see these guys being disgusted by it.

First Soriku chapter! ^w^ Enjoy~

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He could feel it pounding through his veins. Making his teeth ache, his throat dry, the hair rise on the back of his neck, his muscles tremble and his motor skills, strangely, sharpen with greed.

He needed to kill.

Riku examined the crowds from above on a balcony, nostrils flared as he rooted around the people for one with the necessary smell to quench his thirst.

He shuddered at his thoughts, disgusted by them. He was not a killer, but that did not mean the instinct to maim and steal life did not torture him like every other forsaken creature that stalked humans.

A smell wafted up and his senses, both magical and feral, latched onto it with excitement. Finally, one with the right blood to satisfy him!

The silver-haired werecat made sure no one was looking before boosting over the side of the balcony and landing lightly on the balls of feet, absorbing the shock by crouching and placing his palms on the ground as well. He stood nonchalantly, trying not to attract attention, and carefully sniffed at the air. He still had the trail, good. He began to follow it, tracking the person with his magical sense rather than his physical sense so he wouldn't have to sniff the breeze like a dog.

The smell began to grow stronger, and then the werecat zeroed in on a brunet. He couldn't help licking his lips unconsciously, and felt faintly nauseated when he realized what he had done. _No use beating myself up over something I can't control._ This philosophy had saved his sanity many a time, and he turned his attention back to his prey.

He didn't notice, of course, the hints. He was so wrapped up in blood-lust that he didn't notice the sweet smell on the air he would have recognized, or the certain style to the spikes that he knew all too well. Maybe even the boy's choice of clothing would've tipped him off, if he had been paying attention to such things. But of course, he wasn't.

Riku grabbed the boy's shoulder, opening his mouth a hair, ready to seduce him into submission, and then take him to a dark alley to feed.

But then he turned.

Riku stared in shock, flinching, although his hand remained where it was as he felt feeling flee his body to rush to his burning face.

_Sora._

Bright blue eyes blinked at him, then blinked again as recognition lit up his face, accompanied by a smile nearly as blinding. "Riku! Hi! What's up, did you want to talk to me?" He seemed pleased that he had been stopped by the silver-haired boy, although his eyes slid sideways to glance at the hand on his shoulder almost subconsciously.

Riku twitched again and retrieved his hand. Feeling a strange mix of burning and cold, and he vacantly wished he could touch Sora again.

Sora gave him a funny look when he didn't respond, and finally said, "Riku? Hey, are you okay?"

The werecat inhaled sharply and he gulped, saying as cheerfully as he could manage, "Yeah! I'm…I'm fine. Just wanted to say hi." _Just wanted to drink your blood._

He was nervous now. There was a good reason he stayed away from Sora, one he couldn't tell Roxas, so he just placated the blond any time his suspicions arose. If he got into something with Sora, and he knew he would if he had the chance, he wouldn't be able to keep himself from hurting the brunet, either by biting him or by seducing him. It sucked that his life had been reduced such animalistic urges—fight, feed, and mate—but that was how it worked these days if you were charge of trying to save your dying species from others trying to wipe it out. You didn't have much time for introspection.

You could never tell this to Roxas. The blond would instantly turn inwards and go depressed, staying silent for hours to sometimes days. He had never liked being so feral. It hadn't bothered Riku…until now of course.

Sora looked at him doubtfully, but covered it with another bright smile. "So, did you want to hang out with me?" It was more of a plea than a question, but his trepidation filled Riku with sadness. He hadn't wanted to make the brunet nervous.

So he shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Why not?" He was rewarded with another happy grin.

The silver-haired cat fell in step with Sora, wondering vaguely where they were going. He was so distracted simply by the human's presence that he forgot his hunger. _It's not like I need it right away_, he reasoned with the side of him that was nervous about his weakness_. It's just iron I need for magic, and it's not like I need magic to survive. _Plenty of werecats were without magic.

…Most of them weren't captains, but whatever.

Sora stopped in front of a store and peered in the window at the stuff they were selling. Riku found himself smiling in amusement at the brunet's look of fascination towards a pair of solid gold and solid silver keyblades, worthless though they were, and his look of disgust towards a fake jar of eyeballs.

"What is all this?" the younger boy asked, sounding disconcerted.

Riku glanced at the sign. "Martha's Shop," he replied absently. "Looks like just a bunch of junk people sold to the owner and the owner is trying to resell."

"What's that called? Pawning?" Sora tapped on the glass and jumped back with a yelp as a robotic snake rose up and snapped at him.

"I think so." The werecat poked his friend lightly and said, "Where are you supposed to be going, anyway?"

Sora hesitated, then slowly turned to face him, biting his lip, a look of uncertainty crossing his visage. This worried Riku, although he wasn't sure why. A dead bird on the side of the road could give the brunet the same look he wore now.

"Well…" Sora sighed heavily looked Riku straight in the eye, clearly upset. "Roxas has been acting really strange," he said. "Even more depressed than normal. I want to figure out what's up with him, but he won't tell me, he just changes the subject or flat-out ignores me…" He gave Riku a pleading look. "You're really good friends with him, come on, tell me what's the matter with him!"

The werecat looked at him sadly. He wished he could tell the brunet. He wanted to so bad. _Even if I told you the basics of the story, you wouldn't understand, Sora._ "I don't know."

The brunet let out a harsh sigh and turned, continuing down the street in silence.

They kept walking in the quiet for a while, Riku gazing around at the people pacing by, and ignoring the pangs of deprivation weighing down his arms and making his stomach clench. He finally opened his mouth to tell Sora he had to go, but the boy spoke at the same time.

"Riku, can I hang out with you later?" he asked nervously, glancing at him with that wide-eyed look that wrung his heart—whatever was left of it. "Just…Just for a while."

Riku shifted uncertainly. Then he gave an exasperated sigh and replied, "Yeah…Sure. But later. I need to do something right now."

Sora nodded quickly, but the silver-haired guy could sense the lift in his mood. "Of course! Well…Come by my house around…nine I guess?"

Riku smiled absently at him. "Yeah, sure. See you later."

They waved vaguely and the werecat slipped into the crowd before sequestering himself into an alley to sense out a new trail. But he was slightly distracted; Sora had only talked to Roxas before he had taken up his position as SpellMaster again, so he was doubt even more depressed. He was slightly worried about the blond…

A scent caught his attention and his thoughts dissipated in favor of tracking down a victim.

...

Riku walked up to the Strife residence, still licking little specks of blood off of his fingers. Normally he wasn't so careless as to make a mess, but he had been terribly desperate to get the iron held in the girl's blood.

He looked over his hands and face again to make sure there was no stains left, then knocked on the door.

Sora answered, eyes dark with worry. He looked down at the silver-haired man's shirt and his eyebrows shot up. "You have a really ketchup-y hamburger or something?" he asked.

Riku looked down, stomach clenching in terror. Sure enough, there was a small stain on his shirt where blood had landed that he had neglected to notice. And sooner or later, the smell would begin to be obvious even to a human. Crap.

He gulped and said, "Yeah, I guess I was just really hungry. Do you mind, or should I go change and get you later or something?"

Sora smiled at him. "Nah, it's fine." He slid out and shut the door, shoving his hands in his jean pockets. "So, where were you planning on going?"

"Well, we can go to the movies, or we can go eat." He shrugged.

The brunet laughed. "It wouldn't be good to go eat, since you just ate," he commented, clearly amused by Riku's 'blond moment.' "So we can go see a movie."

"Sounds good," the silver-haired werecat replied with a smile. They started out, and after a few minutes, Riku gave in to his wishes and slid his hand over, linking fingers with the brunet. He didn't look at the younger person, but he felt his hand get squeezed. "So why did you look so worried earlier?" he asked curiously.

Sora tightened his grip again, looking at the ground. "Well…Roxas seems even more upset. He looks like…like he's given up hope." He shuddered and pressed closer to the silver-haired guy, glancing around almost unconsciously. Riku wondered if he was getting the sense he was being watched that most humans got in the dark…and for very good reason. "I wish I could help him, but he won't even tell me what's wrong."

"Because he can't," Riku blurted out helplessly before he had the chance to shut himself up. Sora glanced at him sharply and he swallowed harshly. "Erm, I mean…Maybe he's part of the army, or something like that, where they can't tell you anything."

Sora snorted so harshly, the werecat flinched. "Yeah, right! Roxas has never had much of a sense of loyalty to groups. He hates our city and nation, and he constantly rails against war. He would never join the army."

The silver-haired man didn't answer, gazing blankly at the sidewalk. It was probably better not to answer, anyway.

"Ah, here we are!" Sora yipped, and Riku looked up and saw the big theater in front of them, flashing colorful lights and sporting a line of people.

They exchanged glances and Sora asked, "Do you think it's opening night for something?"

Riku let go of his hand momentarily and trotted over to the line to tap a person the shoulder. "'Scuse me, what's the line for?" he asked curiously.

"The new Twilight movie," the girl answered, blinking at him. Then she blushed and her date leered angrily at him.

Riku nodded and said thank you before returning to Sora, an undisguised look of hatred on his face. Sora jumped and asked in shock, "What, what is it?" The silver-haired man noticed his fear and shook his head, trying to erase his expression. "It's Twilight."

The brunet tilted his head in confusion, making Riku almost smile in affection. The kid was too cute. "What's wrong with Twilight?" he asked curiously. "I mean, yeah, it's way over-played and the story can get a bit annoying, but it's interesting somewhat."

He ruffled Sora's hair and answered, "Oh, it's nothing. I just don't like it. We're gonna see something else anyway. What kind of movies do you like?" _Damn stupid movie and books with stupid sparkly vampires and wimpy-ass wolves…At least it makes a good way to tease the other species. _The comeback was always that at least their species were in the movie, but werecats were never in movies…

The human shrugged and replied, "Well, anything really."

Riku had an idea.

...

The silver-haired werecat sighed, exasperated. So he had decided to take them to a scary movie—Sora gets scared, clings to him, all that fun stuff, right?

Wrong.

Apparently Sora is not easily scared. The brunet sat in his seat, chomping on popcorn, grumbling every few minutes about the idiocy of the main characters, the horrible graphics, the lame jump-scares, and the sickening story line. Even Riku was jumping at some parts, but Sora just snorted and popped another kernel of corn in his mouth.

By the end of the movie, the silver-haired man was falling asleep, and the brunet had been shushed a couple times by people after he shouted out at the screen "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? DON'T GO THAT WAY, YOU HEARD THE MOANING AND KNOW WHAT IT MEANS, YOU DIPSHIT!"

_Note to self: Never, ever, take Sora to a horror movie again._

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Bahaha, me and weird stopping places...

Next chapter: back to akuroku and fight scene! :D

I'm going to continue switching back and forth between akuroku and soriku every chapter now, so if you want to read one or the other, feel free to skip around. Akuroku is going to stay the main, but you don't have to read the soriku.

And the fight scene thing is because...I'm getting bored, honestly. XD And things need to start moving, for pete's sake...I have...two plot-twists planned at the moment, I think.

PLEASE REVIEW! XD Man it's degrading if you see that like 7 people are following the story, but you only get three reviews...all but one on the first chapter. Did my second one suck or something? TELL MEEEEEEE.

Have a nice day :)


	4. Lost and Found

My excuses are at the bottom.

Enjoy. ^w^

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Blood.

It was everywhere. In my fur, in my claws, in my teeth, clogging my nose…How could so much gore come from killing only one werewolf? The rest I slaughtered with my magic. The one got through my defenses and I lashed out…I can still feel the rending, tearing sensation, the screeching, the warm, heady blood, the faint feeling of pain as I was injured…

I stared over the battlefield, feeling weakened, chest heaving as I tried to breathe through the reek of body fluids. I pressed my paw against the side of a dead werewolf nearby, reverted to human form in death. I felt sadness spread through me, mixed with anger.

I didn't want this…

"Roxas."

I turned and looked over my shoulder at the blood-splattered silver werecat behind me. "What?" I growled.

"Leader wants to talk to you," he replied in a rumble.

I just sighed and followed. I want to go home…

When I did finally get to go home, I limped the whole way, eyes downcast, not even bothering to hide my ears and tail. Luckily, my tail dragged, so it looked fake, not that I cared at the moment. I slid into the house and immediately headed for the bathroom upstairs, praying Sora was asleep.

I sat under the hot spray of water, glancing sideways at my spellcaster uniform. Now that I thought about it, it was covered in so much blood and so tattered, it probably wouldn't do me much good anymore. And I didn't know where my shoes were. I sighed and pressed my forehead against the wall. _Fucking war._

There was a knocking on the bathroom door, scaring me so bad I jumped and slipped, my instant grip on the shower the only thing that kept me from falling. I hastily righted myself as I heard Sora's voice.

"Roxas, are you okay?" he asked, tone drenched with worry.

Sadness tightened my stomach—I didn't want to worry Sora. "I'm fine, Sora."

"…You've been gone for a really long time," he grumbled.

I closed my eyes. "I'm sorry." It was all I could say.

I heard him sigh and leave, no doubt frustrated. I focused on finishing the shower, then wrapped a towel around myself and went into my room. I was dressing when I heard the doorbell ring. I looked towards the door in confusion; it was around two in the morning. No one visited at two in the morning! "Sora!" I shouted, my now familiar survival instincts beginning to kick in.

"I got it!" he replied, and panic shot through me.

"NO!" I screamed, whipping around the corner…just as he opened the door.

There stood two slim, tall, imposing figures. And they were pale as the moon, flashing incredibly sharp fangs as they smiled.

I was already running forward when the first one grabbed Sora, ignoring his panicked screams. Before I had even hit the bottom of the stairs, they were gone. Nonetheless, I ran outside and, panting, sought out their scent for a few minutes. I didn't find any.

Filled with urgency, I picked a direction and ran, ignoring the glances cast my way by late-night walkers. I ran until my breath seared my throat, my legs and arms were giving out on me, and my eyes were squinting through the wind. I finally gave out and collapsed on the sidewalk, noticing the reason I was having trouble breathing was because I was sobbing, and my eyes weren't watering, I was crying. I pushed myself up to my knees and attempted to stand, but my muscles, already weak from battling for days, just collapsed on me again. I pushed myself back up and, not caring who was around, leaned back and roared in pain.

"SORA!"

I fell forward again, wrapping my arms around myself and wailing against the concrete. I heard someone walk over and ask something, felt their touch on my shoulder, but I couldn't respond. Agony was tearing through my insides at high speed and I felt my breath began to choke off at the waves of torture. "Sora…Sora…" I heard someone whimpering; I guess it must have been me.

Finally, the person who had walked up got me to stand. When they saw I couldn't hold my own weight, they wrapped an arm around me and began lugging me somewhere.

I didn't really care. Vampires had taken Sora. They were going to kill him. And there was nothing, _nothing_, that I could do. I felt another sob rip out of my throat, and moaned in both physical and emotional torment.

It took me quite a while to come out of my stupor. When I did, I noticed I was lying in a living room, on a couch, covered by a blanket. I heard the crackle of thunder and my already sunken mood twinged with dark amusement; I wasn't going home anytime soon. _Speaking of which, where am I?_ I continued to look around until a person suddenly came clunking through the door, kicking off shoes and giving me a glimpse of the metallic stairs of a motel. I took in a bizarre blond mullet and a fairly muscled body, shown by the wet shirt clinging to him, then looked up to see a stressed face.

The man, whoever it was, turned and saw me looking at him. A grin spread across his face that was like sun in a hurricane. "You're awake!" he practically squealed, and I cringed away from the happiness. I didn't want sunshine right now. Ignoring my obvious discomfort, the blond moved closer, holding out his hand. "I'm Demyx!" he chirped.

Demyx. It rang a bell, but I couldn't think what it was. Deciding it was my imagination, I blinked up at him and took his hand reluctantly. "Roxas," I replied.

The blond, Demyx, nodded sagely. "Cool. Umm, can I ask why you were outside screaming like someone was trying to kill you?" he inquired, chipper as ever, as he moved towards a tiled area—the kitchen, I was guessing.

My mood somehow managed to sink lower. "My brother…he's been kidnapped…"

Demyx was immediately back in the room, almost surprising me with his speed. My suspicions were caught, but I ignored it as he frowned at me, a little too close for comfort. "I'm sorry," he murmured. It was a little weird to see him without his sunny smile, even for as little time as I had known him. "Some of my friends have been kidnapped recently, too, but…" His eyes lowered. "…Yours may survive, but my friends are surely dead."

I blinked at him in confusion. How could he know all this? Condescending pity shot through me. "You never know," I replied. "My kidnapper may not be the same as yours."

He met my gaze for the longest time, and I was struck by the fact that he also had bright blue eyes. He finally answered, "No. I'm sure they're the same."

What do you say to that? I stayed silent as he watched me for a minute, then straightened without a word and went back into the kitchen. Listening to him patter around in there, I leaned over and placed my face in my hands, exasperated and feeling my tense muscles complain. Leave it to me to be part of a war I didn't volunteer for, then get my brother kidnapped by the enemy, and last but not least get rescued by someone I didn't know with an overly-happy complex.

I heard Demyx come back in, and next thing I knew, a warm drink smelling suspiciously like coffee was shoved in my face, making me jerk back and look up at the blond.

"Drink it!" he ordered with another grin. "My mentor says coffee's good at making people feel better."

I wanted to inform him that I didn't like coffee, but his infectious smile was too much like puppy eyes. I took the drink and cradled it, daring myself to take a drink. I did, and grimaced, but at least it was warm. I was steeling myself up for another drink when Demyx spoke again.

"So, do you need to call someone? I'm guessing you're not the only one that's going to be concerned about your missing brother," my rescuer commented from where he had plopped down in a recliner.

That instantly set my mind to calculating. If I called Riku, I could get help from at least some werecats in tracking the vampires down, maybe even have Zack himself on the case, and if we explained the situation to the werewolves, then maybe—

"I knew it! You're a cat."

I felt my body go rigid with tension, my alarm numbing my brain to the pain of my soreness. I slowly looked up at Demyx, swallowed, and rasped out, "What makes you call me a cat?"

Demyx rolled his eyes. "For one thing, you smell like one. For another, only a were-creature gets a look like that when faced with this sort of thing. And I've heard about you before. Almost all werewolves have."

I felt adrenalin begin shooting through me once more, and I was on my feet, coffee on the floor, in a fighting position in an instant.

Demyx hastily scrambled to his feet, holding out his hands in a placating gesture. "Woah, woah!" he exclaimed. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

"You're a werewolf!" I snarled. "They're trained to kill us!"

The blond frowned like I'd insulted him. "No, we're not!" he replied in a whiny voice. "We're even allies with the werecats!"

I growled. "No, you're not! Werewolves broke off the alliance, and now the Alpha won't even speak with our Leader." Something was off, though…was this blond really that dumb? Or did he not know?

Or had we been lied to?

I heard the door rattle and the hair on the back of neck raised, and my tail went bottle-brush against my leg. I swore quietly, glancing over my shoulder then whipping back warily to face the werewolf.

Demyx hadn't moved, hadn't even tried to transform. I felt my guard dropping at his anxious expression. Then his face switched to alarm.

The same moment the front door hit the wall, arms were locked around me, holding me in place. I screamed and thrashed, but the person was strong. I could hear Demyx yelling and someone responding just as angrily, but I was blocking it all out, focusing totally on the arms enclosing me, sending me into a panic. I snarled angrily, and changed into my panther-like self. I was too big then for the enemy to hold, and I leapt over to Demyx, lips peeled back in a vicious scowl.

But the moment I laid eyes on my attacker, the growls stuttered in my throat, and my eyes widened. I took in red hair and emerald eyes in with horror.

_Ohhhh hell._

It was Axel.

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I'm sorry it's been ages, but now that I'm in college, especially in biomedical sciences major, I barely have enough time to breathe, let alone write. I'm considering changing majors, because my stress is through the roof-but anyway...

So this lateness was a mix of college time constraints and my lack of inspiration. XD My other tries at this chapter were pitiful. At least it's mildly long.

Soo lots happened here! Sora has been kidnapped by vampires! Roxas has met Demyx! He also has been reunited with Axel-but does Axel know about werewolves and werecats?

Find out next time! X3

PS. Want me to ramp up the plot twists (or at least try)? Leave a review! ^w^

Thanks for reading


	5. Nothing is Right

Sorry this took so long! Tried to write a Nanowrimo, but my laziness killed it, and I didn't have a good idea of what I was doing. XP Maybe next year.

You might want to reread the end bit of the last chapter, cause the beginning of this jumps right back in.

Enjoy!

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Even though Roxas recognized him, all the redhead saw was a werecat. Eyes alight with hate, he growled and phased, and the blond found himself faced with a wolf that even under normal circumstances would have been called beautiful. His fur was a glorious bright red, with darker crimson stockings, and he had bright, glowing green eyes with little black triangles of fur just below his eyes where his tattoos were, and glinting white fangs as he snarled. The fur along his spine and his ruff were a mass array of spikes, imitating his hair. Overall, Axel was an imposing sight, easily as large as a grizzly and taking up quite a bit of space in the apartment.

The blond only had a couple moments to take in the red wolf before he lunged at him, teeth bared, throat rippling with a snarl. Roxas spun, dodging out of the way, ears flat, and danced back a bit, completely unwilling to continue this. He could see Demyx bellowing at Axel out of the corner of his eye, but the blonde couldn't hear anything, all of his senses trained on the imminent threat, turning to glare at him with green eyes. Seeing such fury in those familiar eyes made his heart ache, a feeling that he found odd, mixing with the numbness from Sora's kidnapping.

At the reminder, he choked back a sob, and hunched, tail drooping. He barely heard a growl, then a thump, and a piercing yelp. Roxas's head snapped back up and he saw a small yellowish wolf backing hurriedly away from the crimson one now laying on his side.

The older wolf sprung to his feet and roared at Demyx in fury. They bantered back and forth in wolf language, communicating through tail flicks and ear twitches and other miniscule signs that Roxas, even with his cat senses, found difficult to translate. All he knew was that by the end of it, Demyx looked a lot more relaxed, and Axel looked baffled, hackles flat and fangs covered, eyes focused on the younger wolf.

They both turned to look at Roxas at the same time, startling him and making his ears perk. Axel snorted, flicking his head, and suddenly reared, seamlessly turning back human.

Roxas gulped at the redhead's naked form and looked away, blushing in a cat fashion, ears flat, tail wrapped tightly around him. Axel noticed the reaction and snorted again before traipsing off to get clothes. Demyx, apparently at least somewhat politer, went back to his own room before changing.

Soon all three creatures were back in the living room, two humans with glowing eyes and a giant, golden cat.

"So," Axel began, voice still gravelly with wolf tone. He coughed and continued. "You…You're Roxas? Honest to goodness?"

Roxas felt the urge to roll his eyes, but didn't, just twitching his whiskers as he kept his eyes riveted on Axel, the tip of his tail flicking. He slowly nodded.

"Why don't you change back?" the redhead asked curiously.

The werecat rolled his shoulders, flicking on ear, making Axel sigh, "And that's why I would love for you to return to being a human. I have no idea what that was supposed to mean."

Roxas stared the wolf down again, until Axel finally remarked, "Can you stop doing that freaky cat-thing, with the whole 'I see into your soul with my eyes!' That thing."

Roxas blinked, and then his whiskers twitched again in amusement, eyes lighting up. He complied, transforming back into a human, noting the almost greedy look in those green eyes that fell disappointed when the blond settled into human form already clothed.

"Neat trick," Demyx commented, glancing at Axel with amusement. Apparently he wasn't the only one noticing the redhead's lecherous gaze.

The blonde flopped down on the sofa behind him, crossing his arms, and leered at them both. "Alright," he grumbled. "What do you want?"

"Umm you're kind of in MY apartment," Axel commented, leaning back and laying his arms across the back of the couch, lounging in a very wolfish way. Demyx slid to the floor and proceeded to slouch in a similar fashion, making the corner of Roxas's mouth move up just barely. "Plus you lied to me for a good while. I'd say I should sound offended."

"You lied just as much as I did," the blond cut in, insulted.

Before the redhead could reply, the other blond snapped, "Axel! It's my bad. I saw him practically falling to pieces in the street and decided to be nice and bring him in out of the rain. Not to mention I recognized him, both from your descriptions and from the wolf stories."

Roxas raised an eyebrow at the thought of Axel telling stories about him—he didn't know they had interacted enough for stories to be created.

The redhead didn't even blush. "Ohh, so that's why. Roxy, what were you doing out in the rain?" He pouted when the blond scowled fiercely at the nickname.

But then the werecat locked his eyes on the floor, cat ears drooping slightly. "I…My brother has been taken. By vampires."

"Why would vampires want a werecat?" Demyx inquired, clearly confused.

Roxas shook his head, fighting tears with all his willpower. "He's human."

Both werewolves hissed with pity. "That's fucked up," Axel muttered, gaze dark. "I guess they knew who you were as well."

"I guess," Roxas sighed, then looked up at the pair again. "I was trying to follow them, as pointless at that may be. Anyway, that's not the major thing, since it might…already be too…late..." He looked at the floor for a moment, and then shook his head, looking back up. He glanced to Demyx, then back to Axel, brow furrowing. "Demyx here says the werewolves are still allied to the werecats. As far as we know, they're not."

"What?" the redhead murmured, ears perking. "We're not? Last I knew of, we were, and that was this morning. I went and saw Alpha herself!"

Roxas tensed. _We've been tricked._ His thoughts flickered over all the vague possibilities, crossing out one after another. "How….Then how?" he finally muttered in confusion.

"Infiltrator," Axel grumbled, looking out the window at the dark rain. "Could be anyone, anywhere. Last I heard, there was a werewolf in the service of the vampire Lord, even." He shuddered. "He's a bad one. An Untamed."

Roxas stood sharply, alarmed. "The vampire Lord has an Untamed in his services?" he exclaimed, horrified. "How have we not known?"

"He's been under your noses the whole time," Axel snorted. "SaÏx, the sneaky bastard…"

"Oh." Roxas sat back down, rubbing a hand over his mouth. "Oh. We figured he was just a werewolf assigned over as part of some treaty…or something."

"Nah," Demyx mumbled, speaking for the first time in a while. It surprised Roxas that he had gone so long without interjecting. "SaÏx deserted us to chase after Xemnas's nasty tail."

Axel's lip curled, showing his opinion of the situation. Finally, he sighed, exasperated, and said, "Anyway, the werewolves are under the impression there is still a treaty. We had been wondering why every now and then, we'd get alerted to a were-fight, but we figured that was purely personal."

"And the werecreatures haven't met on the battlefield in a while," the blond cat hummed. "I have to tell Leader…This is extremely important."

"What about your brother?" Demyx inquired.

Pain clawed at Roxas, and he winced. "I…" he whispered, trailing off and staring into nothing.

After a bit, Demyx spoke again. "We can help, you know. We can track vampires."

Roxas's head shot up, eyes filled with hope. "You can?"

"It's a magic trick," Axel snorted. "Probably one of the few we have. Rejuvenation, speed, and sniffing powers—basically our range of spells."

"Should you have told him that?" Demyx inquired, looking up at the redhead, who just shrugged.

Roxas had a moment and rewound the conversation. "Woah, woah, wait. You're a werewolf," he began, pointing at Axel.

"Good job," the redhead replied sarcastically, earning an eye roll.

"So that job you were talking about? And that assistant?" he went on hesitantly, gaze switching over to the Mohawk-mulleted child on the floor.

The red wolf nodded, ruffling the blond wolf's hair and making him yelp. "This is my assistant, yes. Well, technically he's my apprentice. Apparently since I'm Beta, I have to take care of all the newbies."

Roxas straightened, eyebrows rising. "You're the Beta?" he said, disbelief etched in his voice. "You? The mysterious second in command no one has ever met that trains all of the wolves and presides over all werewolves except the Alpha? You." Axel nodded. "Over Luxord, Cid, and Lexaeus? You."

The red wolf smirked. "Don't sound so pleased," he answered. "I've got brains kiddo, and a few tricks up my sleeve, or in my fur rather. I'm a sneaky guy, with a good personality. I tend to fit Beta rather well, considering Alpha doesn't like talking to many people."

Demyx nodded emphatically. "Alpha likes the policy 'Kill first, ask questions later,'" he informed the werecat with a wide-eyed look.

As Roxas opened his mouth to say something, Axel interrupted. "This is all well and good, but Roxy, you need to get focused on the problem at hand again. Go inform the Leader of the issue of the alliance. Demyx and I will get started on tracking down your brother."

Roxas shuddered. "Yeah…Sure. But, are you sure you don't want me with you guys? The vampires are tricky."

Demyx and Axel both laughed. "Kitty, we've been warring with the blood-suckers long before the first Leader was even a mewling kit. Don't worry yourself."

The blonde glared at the mockery of his ancestors, but stood, flattening his ears and reaching up a hand to check that they were hidden, before heading out the door, followed by the wolves. He turned back to them and gave them both a fierce stare. "You should know where I live, to get the trail." He rattled off his address real quick, both bright red pair of ears and blonde ears perked with attention. "Ok. I'll meet up with you guys at my house in two days. If you aren't back with my brother by then, I'll come searching for you—with a load of backup." Both nodded, and he nodded back. "Alright. See you then."

As he walked down the stairs, he heard footsteps behind him, and turned. He was caught completely by surprise when he saw a flash of red, then felt a soft mouth against his own. He was paralyzed with shock, and didn't react. Axel quickly pulled away and gave him a cocky smile. "That's because I didn't get the chance before," he commented, and this time his growling voice sent chills through Roxas. "And just in case I never get another chance. See you later, Roxy."

The blond watched the redhead march determinedly back up the stairs, then turned sharply and continued his way back down, floored. Once he reached the bottom, he stayed a moment, still running over Axel's words and the feeling of the other's lips against his own. After he reveled in the strange warmth a bit longer, he turned and started in the direction of where he knew Leader often stayed.

It was time to find out what the vampires were up to.

* * *

Soo some info that I'm going to go back through and fix, but wanted to make sure everyone was clear on:

Lone vampires unaffiliated with the main group are called "Renegades." Lone werewolves unaffiliated with the main group are called "Untamed." Lone werecats unaffiliated with the main group are called "Feral." Renegades, Untamed, and Ferals tend to be wild and unpredictable, but weaker than average. Usually. Also, the head of the vampires is called the Vampire Lord, the head of the werewolves is called the Alpha, and the head of the werecats is simply known as the Leader. If you haven't caught on yet, the Lord is Xemnas, the Alpha is Tifa, and the Leader is Zack.

Soo just to make sure you guys know, I am answering your reviews, and you should get the reply in the form of a private message. Thanks to you guys! :D And the watchers, too, of course XD.

This story hasn't gotten quite tangley, with more details than I normally keep up with, but soon the major plot twists and occurrences will begin showing up! Hang in there!

Thanks for reading. ^^


	6. The Confrontation

Sorry it's been so long. I'll work on getting back on a schedule.

Enjoy!

* * *

It was late night, lit by a brightly burning moon. The drumming of paws and panting of wolves permeated the air as a pair of werecreatures rushed by.

"Axel!"

The red wolf glanced back over his shoulder at the smaller blond werewolf that was falling behind. "What?" he snapped.

"Please, I need a break!" Demyx panted, almost stumbling over his own paws.

Axel's lip curled with disdain. "We don't have time!" he snarled. "If we don't hurry, something terrible could happen to Roxas's brother!"

"The only thing they would do, they could have already done by now!" Demyx cried, in pain.

Axel gradually slowed to a walk, the blond wolf nearly collapsing as he stopped beside the beta, panting desperately, strings of drool hanging from his lips.

The red wolf turned to Demyx. "You…You're right. If they were going to turn him, they could have had plenty of time by now." He looked forward along the direction of the scent trail, heart tight with fear. Fear that the one he had become so attached to would be crushed if they didn't get there in time, and…

The wolf pushed back his head and howled out his frustration.

"What are you doing?" Demyx exclaimed, still catching his breath. "They'll know we're here!"

"That's fine," Axel replied in a calm tone. "They won't expect us to be coming after them…" He sighed through his nose, twitching one ear. "Are you rested yet?"

The blond werewolf swallowed and ran his tongue around his mouth to clear the saliva. "I think so. I can make it the rest of the way."

Axel nodded once, then turned back towards the trail. "Let's go then."

They took off sprinting.

...

Roxas stood before the Leader, eyes locked with the man who looked so much like him.

Cloud pressed his hands into his face with a loud sigh. "So, in short, your brother was kidnapped by vampires, you sent werewolves after him, and the werewolves are actually still allied with us, so someone must have intercepted and sent us a false message."

The werecat shifted his weight nervously. "…Yes," he replied, trying to keep his voice neutral to hide his anxiety; the Leader sounded doubtful.

Cloud sighed and uncovered his eyes, standing from his desk. "Alright, Roxas. You're the most powerful spellcaster we have, so I'll trust you. But you cannot tell this to Riku."

Of course, the moment he said that, the door opened and said silver-haired werecat walked in, ears perked and eyes wary. "Cannot tell me what?" he asked, voice respectful, but posture defensive.

Roxas flinched and Cloud groaned, putting a hand back to his forehead. "Well, fuck, might as well tell him now. Alright, Roxas, inform Riku of what has happened. If he doesn't have a mental break-down, then take him with you to catch up with the werewolves. I must have a meeting with the Alpha…" He turned away.

Roxas tilted his head in confusion—why would Riku have a melt down? He shrugged it off and turned back to the silver-haired werecat. "Come with me, I'll explain on the way. We don't have much time."

As they ran, Roxas tried to get Riku up to speed, but the other werecat only took in his first few sentences before exclaiming, "Sora is gone? He's been captured by vampires?" After the blond confirmed it, he practically shut down, withdrawing into his own head and not replying to his companion.

They finally reached a clearing and Roxas spread a palm over the grass thoughtfully. "Axel has been here…" he murmured, almost to himself.

"Indeed he has."

Both werecats snapped to attention, senses honing in on a blue-haired man crouching on a branch in the trees. Not a smile graced the stern face, and Roxas felt slightly disoriented by the bright yellow eyes.

"Untamed!" Riku snarled, and Roxas immediately changed, along with the silver-haired teen, into his werecat form.

The blue-haired man was unfazed by the two large cats facing him and yawned, revealing sharp canines. "I was sent to delay you. You must not catch up with the werewolves." He said it almost to himself, like he was reaffirming his own orders. "But you must not be killed."

The blond growled, confused. Why shouldn't they be killed?

But the Untamed took his mind from his train of thought as he leapt down from the tree, smoothly transitioning into a werewolf on his way down. He paused, examining them through his luminescent eyes emotionlessly.

He was a massive werewolf, bigger than Axel even, and he was clearly not nice. Old blood was caked in places in his fur, the blue strands ragged and matted, and his eyes were glowing with a cold, killer intelligence.

This was not a normal Untamed.

The werewolf licked around his lips. "My name is Saix," he informed them. "And you will die." Then he bared his fangs, crouched, and launched with appalling speed.

Riku met him mid-leap, roaring angrily. Roxas ran around and fell on Saix's flank, tearing at his hindleg with razor-sharp claws.

The blue wolf spun with the same horrendous speed as before and latched his teeth into Roxas's neck.

The werecat screeched in shock and pain, flailing desperately with his claws, slashing at the thick ruff of fur around the wolf's neck and opening slight gashes on his face.

Noticing his plight, Riku jumped back in, sinking his claws into Saix's hindquarters and biting at his spine.

As the wolf released Roxas and turned again, the blond fell back hastily to the edge of the clearing to assess his new injury. He quickly decided that it was bad, but not mortal. He readied himself to go back to his friend's aid.

Even in that short time, Saix had managed to overpower even the large and muscled Riku, pinning him on his back to the ground and trying to tear at Riku's throat and belly, although the werecat was fending him off with his own teeth, trying to maneuver his hindlegs around to get a good kick into the wolf's ribs.

Roxas hesitated, then sat and pulled on his magic reserves—clearly they were going to lose way too much blood and time if they fought this opponent head-on. He felt his power flow through him, making his veins tingle and his bones ache; magic was not made for mortal bodies. He focused his power on the enemy in front of him and roared as he released the tension coiled within him.

Saix yelped sharply as the force hit him with the power of a tycoon; he was blasted back into a tree, breaking through it and collapsing on the other side, body now full of massive splinters of wood.

Riku jumped back to his paws, panting slightly. The blond noted this before wooziness overtook him, making his vision swim and his body sway; magic took copper to use, which came from blood, and, in extreme cases, would be taken from his own blood if necessary. As he hadn't fed in a while, he was dredging from his own blood, weakening him.

He felt breath across his face and slid his eyes open drearily, wondering vaguely when he had closed them.

A human Riku stood before him, teal eyes worried. "He's unconscious," he murmured. "You did good. But we need to hurry, and you can't use anymore magic, or you might seriously hurt yourself."

Roxas changed back to human and couldn't hold back a whimper—with the adrenalin rush fading, the pain was coming in waves, making him put a hand to his neck automatically.

Riku caught the appendage and tilted Roxas's head with a finger on his cheek, examining the wound professionally. "It's small, but pretty deep. I'm going to heal it up a bit so you don't bleed as much."

The blond whimpered again, but this time in protest. "We don't have time," he coughed.

"We have time to keep you alive," Riku replied, although clearly the reminder of their mission began making him frantic. He rushed through the healing, just a thin layer of pale green magic entering his wounds and made them just bearable. "Ok, let's go."

They set off again, but slightly slower now, because of their new wounds.

"I hope those splinters really fucking hurt," Riku muttered quietly. He continued to utter obscenities and insults to Saix the whole way. Roxas got sick of it quickly, but said nothing, for fear of incurring Riku's wrath as well. He now understood what the Leader had meant by the silver-haired were freaking out; he was clearly antsy, moving with almost jerky movements, rushing ahead and slowing back down to wait for Roxas to catch back up.

Roxas finally had to ask. "What's between you and Sora?" he inquired, slightly panting. "I didn't think you would panic like this."

His companion cringed slightly before replying, eyes on the ground they traversed. "We were…dating. Not for very long, but I like him a lot. I think I could even love him. I didn't mind his company like most people, and he didn't require me to talk back to him, and he just chattered away and I just needed to listen…" He shivered visibly. "I never thought…that he would be in danger."

"You knew he was my brother," Roxas reminded him neutrally. "But I didn't think he would be, either. After all, most species respect the boundaries of those with human relatives. Especially ones that know nothing about our world."

Silence reigned, then, for a good portion of the trip as both contemplated Sora, worrying in their own different, yet similar ways.

Roxas stopped suddenly, ears twitching as he looked around.

Riku turned to him nervously and asked, "What is it? What's the matter?"

"Shh!" the blond snapped. He suddenly turned towards a certain tree and shouted, "Axel! I know you're there, come out!"

From the shadows, the red werewolf slowly paced out, green wolf eyes glinting, ears shot forward and head lowered.

Roxas frowned. "Axel? What's wrong?"

The werewolf shuddered softly and shook his head.

"Well, we might have a hostage of his."

Both werecats turned sharply to look towards the direction they had been originally headed in. A tall, dark-skinned man with silver hair stood there, smirking, with a certain blond werewolf in his hands, claws set at the were's throat, ready to tear.

Roxas swallowed and whispered, "Demyx."

The werewolf had tears in his eyes, but he was clearly fighting it back. His voice was quavering as he answered, "I'm sorry."

The silver-haired man grinned maliciously. "Hello, Roxas, Riku. I believe you were searching for someone, and these two just happened to get in the way."

"Where's Sora!" Roxas snarled, ears flattening. "What did you do to my brother!"

The vampire Lord laughed coldly. "Far be it from me to get in the way of a reunion between brothers. He's right here…"

From the shadows at the side of the dark king, a familiar brunet stepped.

"Sora…" Roxas whispered, but it was full of despair. Even the werecats could scent the smell of blood and venom in the air; Sora had been turned into a vampire. "I'm so sorry…" the blond whispered.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sora said, his voice heart-wrenchingly normal and clear. His normally happy blue eyes were like ice. "Why didn't you tell me about these things? That you're not human. That Riku isn't human. That the reason you turned up so bloodied all those days was because you had been out killing."

"I was protecting you!" Roxas cried. "I didn't want you to become part of our world, with you being so vulnerable!"

"Then why didn't you turn me?" the brunet asked, voice still level. "Made me part of your world. Did you think I would be happy never knowing? Being left in the dark all the time, left to question you, left to wonder why you and Riku sometimes looked at me with such fear in your eyes. Did you think I would be forever safe, a human connected to a werecat?"

"He's been feeding you tales, Sora!" Riku suddenly spoke up, fists clenching. "Trying to turn you against us."

The newborn vampire turned his gaze on the silver-haired man, and he winced. "I loved you," he said with such icy fire in his tone that Riku cringed again. "If you still want me to love you, come with me. Be to me as Saix is to Lord Xemnas." A rippling growl came from the russet wolf off to the side, but he made no move to interfere.

Riku swallowed, and it seemed like a mask came over his face. The emotion there cleared away and he straightened, determined. "No," he said. "Either you come back to us, or we…we will kill you."

"And you, Roxas?" Xemnas asked, turning back to blond as Riku and Sora stared each other down. "Axel will be coming with us, unfortunately. What will you do?"

The blond turned and looked at the red wolf, who showed no emotion in either gesture or gaze, but the werecat got the message all the same. "He won't be going anywhere," he replied calmly, turning back to the head vampire. "You will return Demyx to us. After all, what use is he as a hostage? The Alpha will be willing to sacrifice his life for the rest of her wolves."

Xemnas stared at him calculatingly. Then he released the blond wolf with a faint smile, backing up a bit as the werewolf ran to Axel's side, shivering. "Very well. Come, Sora. Let's go home."

As the Vampire Lord turned to leave, the brunet looked over his old friends once more.

"You don't have to leave," Roxas commented quietly.

"No, Roxas," the brunet replied just as softly. "I think I do." Then he turned and followed Xemnas, leaving the battered werewolves and werecats with dampened spirits.

* * *

Well, there's a little action, and a bunch of drama. The rest of the battling will probably be in the chapter after next.

Sorry for being on that unplanned hiatus-I got a Roxas roleplaying tumblr (firehazardsnow) and got back into college, so all my time suddenly vanished, not to mention some of my inspiration. But anyway, I'll get back to updating as much as I can and get this back on track.

Thanks for reading!


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